Gallon sized containers are popular for the retail sale of flavored beverages to consumers. Some of these beverages may be hot-filled into the containers in the case of 100% pure juices, for example, while other beverages may be cold-filled into the containers. The containers are typically made of plastic, and may be manufactured via injection molding, blow molding, or some other suitable method.
There are several design criteria for such containers. First of all, because of the size of the container and the significant weight of the container when filled to capacity with liquid, the containers typically include a handle or grip for ease of use by the consumer. It is also preferable to have a gallon size bottle be as volumetrically small as possible (occupy the least amount of shelf space), as this may be preferred by store owners and consumers. Another important consideration is that producers, distributors, and sellers of these products prefer to palletize many containers onto a single pallet, including stacking the bottles vertically on top of each other several layers high.
Pass-through handles are popular, but they do have some disadvantages. First of all, it is difficult to produce bottles with pass-through handles via blow molding techniques. Second, depending on the size and type of the pass-through handle, it can increase the width or height of the one gallon bottle.
Some blow-molded bottles have a pair of opposed features notched out of the side of the bottle to produce what is known as a pinch grip, which is grasped by the consumer with a thumb in one feature and fingers in the opposing feature. These pinch grips can work well, but depending on their size and type, they can reduce the top-load strength and increase the height and width of the one gallon bottle.
Another type of handle which is popular is a separate bail handle that is attached to the opening of the bottle. Bail handles, when used alone, are generally used to transport product rather than pour product out. Bail handles are typically located at the bottom of the neck finish of a bottle and are too high on the bottle, and too far away from the center of gravity to be used to pour product alone. Bail handles must be used with a second grip feature of some kind in order to be used as a pouring mechanism.
It is against this background and with a desire to improve on the prior art that a grip for a beverage container has been developed.